PAY Swim Team Weekly News- 2/6-2/12/23
PAY Weekly News for 2.6.2023-2.12.2023
E-A-G-L-E-S! Here is what else you need to know for this week. There is a lot of news so please scroll down to the end.
COACHES NOTES
John DeBarbadillo Invitational @ York YMCA - Recap
Magic seems to permeate the air whenever PAY makes its way out to the York YMCA. It was good to be back there this weekend after a few months for the John DeBarbadillo Invite. Better still knowing that our District meet is on the horizon there next month…
There were a handful of special little stories from from the weekend that I felt needed sharing:
Jane Hollis, unable to compete this weekend due to an injury, made the trip all the way out to York to support her teammates nonetheless. You could tell this newly minted 13 year old was chomping at the bit to take on the big girls in this USA setting. She will have her chance very soon.
Scarlett Sulpizio, another newly minted 13 year old for USA swimming purposes, overcame car issues on the trip on Sunday and put together a string trio of lifetime best times, even with now tussling with the bigger girls. I also need to recognize Judi Schettler, mother of Sammi Smeltzer, for springing into action and helping with transport to the pool.
Michelle Lawrence and her family also overcame car issues on the way to York. And yet, they found a way to get to the meet and be a part of something special this weekend. Michelle always looks to give it her all, no matter how challenging the circumstances may be.
Meredith Hummel spent the entire day at the pool on Saturday. All 3 sessions. From dawn to dusk. She was there each morning to cheer on and support her little sister Vivien, but also quickly and eagerly took on the role of “ready bench parent” (or sister?for our 12 and Unders too. She put a smile on the face of every 12 and Under swimmer as she walked them up to the blocks. A special shout out also to Riya Patel for crushing this same job on Sunday morning as well!
Special moments and memories can take many forms, not just in the form of lifetimes best times or new cuts; but demonstrations of citizenship, dedication, fellowship, and passion like what I have described from these kids above.
A couple additions to the previous newsletter from January’s League Champs meets:
Matteo Maiale had a 30.48 second time drop on his 500 Free at Washington Champs!
Sammi Smeltzer swam the 1000 Free for the first time at Distance Champs!
SCHEDULE CHANGES: Unless otherwise communicated on a weekly basis via email, the following is the new schedule for the next few weeks.
Mondays:
Nat/Senior - 4:15-6:15pm (dryland 6:30-7:00pm)
Novice 1 - 5:30-6:15pm
Junior 1 - 6:15-7:15pm
Junior 2 - 6:15-7:15pm
Senior Prep - 7:15-8:45pm (dryland 6:30-7:00pm)
Tuesdays:
Nat/Senior AM - 5:30-7:00am
Nat/Senior - 4:15-6:15pm
Junior 1 - 4:45-6:15pm (dryland 6:30-7:00pm)
Senior Prep - 6:15-8:00pm
Junior 2 - 7:45-8:45pm (dryland 7:00-7:30pm)
Wednesdays:
Nat/Senior - 4:15-6:15pm (dryland 6:30-7:00pm)
Junior 1 - 4:45-6:15pm
Novice 1 - 6:15-7:00pm
Novice 2 - 6:15-7:00pm
Senior Prep - 7:00-8:45pm (dryland 6:15-6:45pm)
Thursdays:
Nat/Senior AM - 5:30-7:00am
Nat/Senior - 4:15-6:15pm
Junior 1 - 4:45-6:15pm (dryland 6:30-7:00pm)
Senior Prep - 6:15-8:00pm
Junior 2 - 7:45-8:45pm (dryland 7:00-7:30pm)
Fridays:
Nat/Senior - 4:15-6:00pm (dryland 6:15-6:45pm)
Senior Prep - 4:15-6:00pm (dryland 6:15-6:45pm)
Junior 1 - 6:00-7:00pm
Junior 2 - 6:00-7:00pm
Novice 1 - 7:00-7:45pm
Novice 2 - 7:00-7:45pm
Saturdays:
Nat/Senior - 10:30-1:00pm
Senior Prep - 10:30-1:00pm
Junior 1 - 1:00-2:30pm
Sundays: NOTE: SUNDAY PRACTICES WILL TAKE PLACE IN HERITAGE POOL
Novice 1 - 9:00-10:00am
Novice 2 - 10:00-11:00am
Junior 2 - 11:00am-12:00pm
THANK YOUs: Thank you to all the individuals who volunteered at the York Meet the past weekend!!! We can’t attend or host meets without parents volunteering to help out so we appreciate everyone!
NEW SCOREBOARD YMCA GIVING CAMPAIGN The YMCA’s corporate campaign to raise $50,000 for the purchase and installation of a new Daktronics scoreboard along with six new associated touchpads, console, wiring, etc is going very well! With a little more help, we are definitely going to have a new scoreboard up and running by our next season. Hurray! No amount is too small! Every donation helps. Here are further details:
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The Scoreboard Pledge form is on our team’s Team Unify homepage and attached in this link PHX_Pledgecard (teamunify.com). Checks, cash, or credit card is an option for donations. This form and donations should be brought to the Phoenixville YMCA front desk ATTN: Lisa McGregor so that the donations can be brought to the safe each day and saved in the restricted account. Questions? Lisa’s email is: lmcgregor@philaymca.org .For any person, family or entity that donates $1500 or above, the YMCA places a silver triangle listing your name on their donor wall (currently in the lobby). The donor triangles remain on the wall for 12 months.
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Corporate Sponsorships- for $5000 or more, there are a few spots on the scoreboard where the corporate sponsor can be advertised. First come, first served due to limited advertising space on the scoreboard.
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Company Matching Gifts- The EIN # associated with this Scoreboard Initiative is EIN#23-1243965 and if there is a space for a comment you can type in Phoenixville YMCA Scoreboard. You can email Hattie Franz to get confirmation that the company match donation came through. Her email is Heather Franz at Heather.Franz@philaymca.org.
UPCOMING MEETS or DEADLINES
Please remind your swimmer that it is every swimmer’s responsibility to clean up after themselves and leave the area we occupy at meets in better condition that we found it AND if your swimmer has to cancel attending the night before or morning of a swim meet, please email coaches (david.rue@philaymca.org and Kathryn.deeney@philaymca.org ) and Kate Baganski (kbaganski@verizon.net ) to ensure the lineups are edited prior to the meet starting. Thank you!
2/18 Frost Fest Hosted by Ridley YMCA @ Ridley High School - Ridley Y is hosting this single afternoon (all ages) meet at Ridley High School on Saturday 2/18. I can attest to Ridley High School being a VERY "FAST" pool. The meet has USA approval from Middle Atlantic, so times will be uploaded to the SWIMS database for USA registered swimmers. I wanted to offer an additional opportunity for swimmers to achieve the cut times they are shooting for Charlie Hartley, YMCA Districts, JO's, or even Y Nats, etc. With how close many of our swimmers are to cuts in these various meets, it felt like the right thing to do for our team.
2/24-2/25 Charlie Hartley Memorial Championships at Ridley High School Hosted by Ridley YMCA @ Ridley High School - Save the date for our YMCA silver meet for those who do not qualify for YMCA Districts (and those looking to get additional District cuts)
2/26 LCY Last Chance Meet at Lionville YMCA - Save the date for our LAST meet opportunity to go for Y District qualifying times
Sunday March 5- BOWLING PARTY FOR DISTRICTS QUALIFIERS- will be held at Arnolds Bowling in Oaks PA 2:15pm-5:30pm. Bowling for 1 hour then pizza/drinks/free time in the arcade with a game card. We are working on the details but the cost will be around $20/swimmer. There will be a signup closer to the event.
3/5 Michelle Deasey Mini (10 and Under) Championship Meet at the Upper Main Line YMCA - Save the date for our 10 and Under championship meets being hosted by UMLY on Sunday 3/5!
3/10-3/12 YMCA DISTRICTS Meet at the York YMCA in York, PA - Save the date for our culminating championship meet of the winter season for many of our swimmers!
3/16-3/19 Junior Championships (formerly known as JOs)- Qualifying times needed.
3/24-3/26 YMCA STATES Meet at WVU in Morgantown, WV- Heads up! Thanks to volunteer Siobhan Hummel there are 4 hotel links reserving about 50 rooms for this weekend for those that think they’ll be attending this meet. The links can be found on our Team Unify website under the YMCA States Event or click HERE. Please check with Coach Dave before reserving a hotel room if you have doubts about whether or not your swimmer may qualify for this meet.
4/3-4/7 YMCA National Championship Meet in Greensboro, NC - The culmination of our entire winter season for our National level qualifiers!
Saturday, April 22- YMCA Family Fun Day and Pickleball Tournament- Our swim team will be hosting a snack bar table at the Phoenixville YMCA’s Family Fun Day as a fundraiser for our team to reduce the cost of the Swim Team’s Awards Dinner at RiverCrest (which will be 5/11/23). Stay tuned in for signups for donations and volunteering to help us that day- and let’s all hope for a sunny and fun-filled day for all!
New Date-Sunday April 30- RESCHEDULED MASTERS MEET- SAVE THE DATE- We’ll need many families and teens to help us host this tremendous swim meet for the US Masters Swimmers ages 19-89+ who come from many surrounding states to compete for world records in our meters pool! Please help us help them! Volunteer Signups will be posted soon.
Wednesday May 10- End of Winter Season Swim Team Awards Dinner 6pm-8:30pm at River Crest Golf Club- Stay tuned for details and a RSVP signup.
FACEBOOK-Come follow “PAY Swimming” on Facebook to celebrate the achievements of all of our kids. Even better, text or email your child’s photo and “brags” from our swim meets to swim mom Donna Hungarter to share on the PAY Swimming page at (484) 686-3156 or dmhungarter@gmail.com. ***Please be reminded that cell phones are prohibited in locker rooms as are photos taken from behind the starting blocks.
TYR PORTAL - If you need any swim apparel or equipment, please visit teams.tyr.com, create an account and use the access code "PAYSUM25". You will then get access to your custom team portal with TYR. By shopping through the custom portal, you will receive 25% off anything you order including parkas, suits and equipment. PLUS, your purchase helps to support the team as TYR provides benefits back to us, based upon our total sales. Please email our TYR rep Joe Eiden with any questions at jeiden@tyr.com or cell 714-615-3757.
BIRTHDAY ROUND-UP Wishing a wonderful day to our teammates who are aging up:
Caroline Dutka turned 9 on 2/8/2023!
Bella Dutka turned 9 on 2/8/2023 too!
Coach Ryan had a Birthday on 2/10/2023!
“Never regret a day in your life: The good days bring happiness, the bad days bring experience, and the best days bring memories.” – Unknown
Have a Wonderful Weekend!
GO BIRDS!!
